The Bali region experienced a significant power outage on Friday, 2 May 2025, as residents were preparing for Kuningan Day prayers. The electricity began to fail in the afternoon at around 4 p.m. and continued until midnight, affecting almost the entire island.
PT General Energy Bali (GEB), operator of the Celukan Bawang Steam Power Plant (PLTU), has issued a clarification regarding the blackout that disrupted the daily activities of many Balinese residents.
This statement aimed to address and dispel various speculations circulating among the public. As reported by Antara, GEB’s Technical Manager Helmy Rosadi stressed that the PLTU Celukan Bawang was not the root cause of the total power outage.
According to Helmy, the main cause was a disturbance on the 150 kV High Voltage Air Line (SUTT) located in East Java, which directly impacted the undersea electricity transmission cable – a crucial link between Java and Bali.
Under normal circumstances, the four undersea cable lines transmit a total of 270 MW of power to Bali.
“There is a huge imbalance between power supply and load in the Bali Subsystem. This makes the frequency of electricity drop steeply beyond safe limits,” Helmy explained in a statement delivered in Bali on Saturday, 3 May 2025.
He added: “So that all plants, both owned by PLN and the private sector, including us, must disengage from the network automatically to maintain the safety of the unit.”
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Government and PLN Respond with Investigation and Restoration of Bali Blackout
The Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources (ESDM) is currently conducting an investigation into the blackout. The Ministry’s Director General of Electricity, Jisman Hutajulu, confirmed that a team of Electricity Inspectors had been dispatched for a comprehensive review.
“We have assigned the Electricity Inspector to thoroughly examine the power plant installation and transmission network in the Bali electricity system,” Jisman stated in an official release on Monday, 5 May 2025.
According to Jisman, the cause of the outage is still under investigation. However, preliminary findings from PT PLN (Persero) indicate that the blackout was likely triggered by a fault in the High Voltage Marine Cable Line (SKLT).
“Currently there is an electrical system disruption that has resulted in the cessation of electricity supply in parts of Bali. The cause of the disruption is still under investigation,” said PLN UID Bali Communications and TJSL Manager I Wayan Eka Susana.
Jisman elaborated: “Based on preliminary findings from PT PLN (Persero), the outage was allegedly triggered by a disturbance in the high-voltage sea cable line (SKLT).
This disturbance caused the disconnection of electricity from the power plant, triggering widespread blackouts throughout Bali.”
Swift Recovery Despite Widespread Impact
The blackout had an immediate impact on vital sectors, including operations at I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and hospitality businesses across the island.
PLN responded swiftly to the crisis. Within 35 minutes, the transmission line was successfully restored, and the electricity supply from Java resumed. Restoration of the power plant continued in stages, with vital facilities supported by generators during the process.
The SKLT was eventually restored, and all substations returned to normal operation with a total power load of 747 megawatts. Full recovery was achieved on Saturday, 3 May 2025 at 03:30 a.m..
“We have assigned the Electricity Inspector to thoroughly inspect the generating installations and transmission networks in the Bali electricity system,” Jisman reiterated.
The Bali blackout occurred just four days after mass outages in Spain, Portugal, and parts of France, raising public concern about the broader state of regional and global power systems.
Although the Java-Bali undersea cable fault has been cited as the main cause in this case, many residents and observers are now questioning the resilience of interconnected electricity networks across regions.
